Wreath Update #5 - New Fall Wreaths in the Etsy Shop!

New to the Etsy Shop! Fall Wreaths for Halloween, Day of  the Dead, and any type of fall activity you may have going on.  Let's start the countdown to the return of Pumpkin Spice lattes, which are addictive as crack cocaine, peeps!  (I mean, so I have heard.  Not about Pumpkin Spice but about crack)

I have appropriated name this one, Pumpkin Spice.

I also have a new, bigger and better Wedding Wreath in the shop, a new Happy Birthday Wreath and an end of the Summer - Nautical Themed Wreath with a hand-made octopus made from polymer clay.  Dudes, that octopus took me, like, two weeks to made since my earlier attempts looked more like weird spiders cause I didn't know how to make the tentacles curl just right.

Shiny in all the right places....unlike my face.

I named this one Life Aquatic.  Yes, Wes Anderson reference ftw!

What other themed wreaths would you guys like to see?  Are you excited for Pumpkin Lattes just around the corner?

Mmmmm.............Pumpkin Spice (drool)

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#GIRLBOSS Review

Like most other reviewers, this is a book you can finish in days.  Unless you have trouble finding time to read or hate reading.  Then, maybe, I dunno, you probably don’t read blogs either.

Sophia Amoruso, founder and owner of Nastygal.com, writes with refreshing ease, neither assaulting the reader with self-help mantras nor harshly condemning the choices previous generations have made by going to Ivy League schools and working for a Fortune 500 company.  She does however, explain, how and why hustling can be profitable and rewarding.  Not hustling in the negative sense, like being a drug dealer or other illegitimate activities but hustling as in owning your own side business.

Her advice, life stories, and bon mots come from her position at the top, becoming wildly successful in the span of 7-8 years, busting her ass and never slowing down, all before turning 30.  She appeals to the reader like an extremely successful older sister.  Despite being a few years older, I could really relate to Sophia.  While her advice seems tailored for young women, “girls”, in their twenties, I think older women can also respond to her importance on hard work, no fear, and learning things for yourself.  Young women seem to want to advance due to outside influences to either please their parents or keep up with classmates.  Older women with work experience under their belt have seen opportunities pass them by and are more primed to create more opportunities for themselves.

While I have not read Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, I had just finished Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover just prior to reading #GIRLBOSS.  Amoruso espouses many of the same money management tips, such as the golden rule “Cash is King” and the blessing that is starting a company without loans.  Both Amoruso and Ramsey explain the ability to build wealth either for yourself or your company once you are debt free. Both stress the importance of having a good team, especially if you are not good at numbers.  You don’t have to struggle to do everything yourself.  Surround yourself with people you trust and that have a way of making sure you perfectly understand the process.

 Here are my five favorite takeaways from #GIRLBOSS;

1. 1.        As a leader if you do not understand something, speak up and ask questions.  Do not be embarrassed, it is essential you understand because you are responsible for all the people working for you.
2. 2.       Listen, observe and form relationships with your customer base.  Be observant, see what people respond to and always find free marketing.
3. 3.       Work hard and don’t ever say “that’s not my job”.  Those that aren’t above doing whatever task falls into their lap will advance and prove they are an asset.
4. 4.       If success happens, there will be many others looking to tear you down.  Do not try to fight back or get involved.  Focus on making your brand a head and shoulders above the rest.
5. 5.       Money looks better in the bank.  Do not spend everything.  Money in the bank will give you more clout and can save your company when bad or tight times may come your way.

Readers, what are your thoughts?  Are you interested in reading this book?  Are you looking to handle your career “LIKE A BAWSE”?

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Love Letter to My Mom

Once upon a time there was a little girl, brimming with energy and a healthy dose of mischief.  She lived, loved, struggled, and fought.  Eventually she grew to become a beautiful goddess, cleverly disguised as full time computer engineer and mother of three.

Dear Mom,

I have probably never told you this, but there is nothing quiet or subtle in the way that you have always loved me.  Even into my 30s, we still hold hands in public and you continue to kiss me on the lips.

I get teary eyed, sometimes, when I realize the effects on your love because I can see the evidence in newer generations.  In the way that the first grandbaby, my younger sister’s son, hasn't forgotten the little games you play with him.  Even though you both live several states apart.  Picking right up where you last left off.  Your love an indelible mark he will know for the rest of his life, as your own children do.

I marvel that my dog, an adopted blue heeler named appropriately “Lil Mama”, remembers the training you spent hours teaching her, even though we live in separate houses.  Learning to sit and shake, despite not having been a puppy for some time.  Still haunted by the abuse of her former owner, she was initially a little wary of me but you loved her from first sight.  And instinctively she somehow knew you could be trusted.  Yours is a love that conquers all.

You continue to be so smart, so shrewd, and so intelligent.  You double checked and edited all my school papers, corrected my spelling before spell-check was even a thing.  You helped with my math homework showing equal aptitude for numbers as well as grammar.  Being bilingual, you also double checked my Spanish homework.  You urged us into becoming engineers like yourself, but also continue to support our artistic endeavors.

I love you Mom.  Every day.  Nonstop.  

Love,

Marg

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Yelp - The Review

Love it or hate it, Yelp is here to stay.

If you are not familiar, Yelp is a social media platform featuring user-generated reviews for businesses and restaurants.

You can sign up for free and review the Empire State Building, your local Wal-Mart, that old roller skating rink in your hometown, your favorite bar, whatever you feel like.

Now, a fair number of business owners and published restaurant reviewers hate Yelp.  Absolutely hate it.  Do a Google search on “Why People Hate Yelp” and you will get a plethora of results.  See here and here.

Restaurant and small business owners hate Yelp because anyone can write super-harmful negative reviews and destroy their businesses.  Allegedly, good reviews hardly ever appear unless the owner pays for marketing on Yelp. 

Published restaurant reviewers hate Yelp because it allows people unfamiliar with the restaurant business to post uninformed reviews.  Yelp also threatens their very livelihood as well.

Now, I myself use Yelp.

I can tell you that Yelp users run the gamut from those with hometown local pride, seeking to spread the word about their favorite hole in the wall places, to name dropping’ high society, 30K millionaires looking to be impressed by the cuisine.   It is just like Facebook. 

There are users you avoid and those that have you rolling with laughter because they are describing how ratchet the parking lot looked like outside of their favorite Thai place.

Yelp rewards its most active reviewers, given the status “Elite”, perks such as invitations to free events in which food and drink samples are provided.  “Elite” events are highly coveted in the Yelp community.

Yelp structures its user experience in such a way that rewards are given out to users that review businesses as often as possible.  This generates free content for Yelp. 

Note, users are urged to be as honest as possible and are not pressured to write completely positive or completely negative reviewers.  Neither are they paid or compensated for their reviews.

Yelp works much like a video game.  The more time spent playing, the more rewards accrue.  Most Yelp users, are as good as their word.  They try to be extremely honest and write accurately about their own personal experience.

Some however, do not.  As with every social media site, there are users that are dishonest or over exaggerating.

Yelp was not created to hold back businesses.  People do not use Yelp to have a business owner fail, lose their livelihood and be thrown out with their spouse and five children on the street.

Most people still don’t what the heck Yelp is.  Most people still talk to their family, friends and co-workers about a bad experience at a restaurant. 

Yelpers can detect when other reviewers are full of bull shit.  Business owners can directly reply back to the reviews and contact unhappy parties, to either apologize or to bitch that reviewer personally.

There are two sides to every story.

Personally, I love the ability to write funny reviews and to bring notice my favorite local haunts.  I love being part of the Dallas – Fort Worth community and Yelp facilitates with that.

What are your thoughts?

Do you use Yelp?

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Happy 75th Anniversary Batman!

In light of the 75^th anniversary of the first appearance of Batman today,  I would like to dedicate this post to the five things I have learned from the most formative cartoon and superhero during my childhood, Batman the Animated Series. 

Yeah, eff' Looney Tunes man, this was my jam. 

1. 1.       BTAS introduced me to the Film Noir and the Art Deco movement.  The style of show resembled a noir detective film in the early episodes and featured beautiful, time consuming hand painted backgrounds and title cards.
2. 
   

1. 2.       BTAS made me aware of strong story-telling and the concept of using no dialogue in scenes, such as the famous opening sequence which depicted Batman chasing after two criminals on the rooftops of Gotham City.
2. 
   

1. 
   
2. 3.       BTAS introduced strong female characters of all races, ages, and sizes such as Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Renee Montoya, Harley Quinn, Batgirl, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, and Talia al Ghul.  Some were pulled from the comic books, others (Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya) created for the show were later added to the comic books.
3. 
   

Renee "BAMF" Montoya

1. 4.       BTAS pioneered the use of well-known film actors to voice the villains.  David Warner, Richard Glover, Richard Mill, Roddy McDowall, Michael York, Ed Asner all provided their voices for various villains.
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3. 5.       BTAS taught me to fear the Joker.  Joker was still hilarious but also dangerously psychotic.  Despite being a children’s cartoon, the show taught new generations the true potential of the Clown Prince of Crime and also proved that the man who played Luke Skywalker could also create the definitive version of comic’s greatest villain of all time.  Amen, Mark Hamill.
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I'm a fan of Heath Ledger's portrayal too but come on, look at him! And in a cartoon, too!

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10 Best Movie Soundtrack Moments

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God, I love movies!  Most people do.

I actually got my BA in Radio/Television/Film and still try to write screenplays on the side.  I really love the concept of storytelling in all formats.  I learned from my dad and maternal grandfather, the best way to set up a story and then deliver the punchline.

And I really love music! My sister and I used to joke that our dream jobs would be music curators, putting together playlists for a variety of purposes.

Now every entertainment site has a top movie-music soundtrack and/or music score list.  I'm not enough of a music nerd to make separate lists but the usual suspects always show up.  Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, The Magnificent Seven,  The Breakfast Club, Casablanca......

Movies I haven't re watched in years.

So I decided to present an alternative take and chose some newer films.  Yeah, Tarantino snuck in there, sorry.  And I don't get Cameron Crowe, so his films aren't on there, sorry. Here, in no particular order are 10 Best Movie Soundtrack Moments in my honest and most opinion.


1.  Half Nelson - Broken Social Scene "Shampoo Suicide"

The motel scene happens at the climax of the movies, when one of  the students (Shareeka Epps) finds her teacher (Ryan Gosling) in a crack den.  With very little dialogue, we witness a flood of emotions between the two talented actors and are utterly swept away by their raw power and the music in the scene.

2. Sunshine - John Murphy, Original Score
*Spoilers*  Sunshine as directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) was the rare sci-fi flick with a wealth of fresh ideas and a truly international cast of heavyweight actors, (Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada).  Early on, Captain Kaneda bravely sacrifices himself, as he stares down the sun, waiting to die the score turns an horrific event into something almost magical.

3. Smokin' Aces - Clint Mansell "Dead Reckoning", Original Score
Clint Mansell is a badass.  In addition to making some of the most recognizable movie music used in virtually every trailer today (Lux Eterna) he has also scored the likes of The Fountain, Moon, The Wrestler and Black Swan.  His music can also transform the ending of a mediocre film into something transcendent, as evidenced below.  *Spoiler*  This shows the end of a movie you probably weren't going to watch anyway unless you were jonesing for pre-Star Trek Chris Pine roles.

4. The Royal Tenenbaums - Nico "Needle in the Hay"
Wes Anderson movies usually show up as MVPs of any movie soundtrack lists.  The Royal Tenenbaums was my first exposure, hence this inclusion on my list.  Something as horrific and gut punching as a failed suicide attempt becomes tragically beautiful and delicately unsettling.  I wouldn't view if you are adverse to the sight of blood, though.

5. High Fidelity - Jack Black "Let's Get it On"
Better named, "The Adventures of a Privileged White Male Music Nerd", this movie name drops music and records all over the place like a gentleman making it rain in a strip club.  As one of his first big roles, we are introduced to the comedic stylings of an up and coming Jack Black, however, it isn't until the end of the movie that we get to hear how well he can actually play guitar and sing.

6. Magnolia - Aimee Man "Wise Up"
Paul Thomas Anderson's films are usually about various individuals suffering in vaguely unsettling environments.  They undergo love, life, and loss in intertwining tales.  When the characters of Magnolia, take time to sing to  Aimee Man's "Wise Up" we are moved by their reflection on life, in a curiously powerful "breaking the fourth wall" scene.

7. Donnie Darko - Gary Jules "Mad World"
This movie is weird, crazy, hilarious, dark and demented.  "Mad World" could not sum the ending up any better.

8.  Scott Pilgrim v. The World - Beck "Threshold"
Ok, full disclosure, I love Beck.  He also put together the soundtrack for one of my favorite films, Nacho Libre.  Beck provides all the songs for the fictional band, Sex Bob-Omb but I included this scene for it's video game characteristics that literally gives power to the music.

9. Napoleon Dynamite - Jamiroquai "Canned Heat"
Sitting through Napoleon Dynamite for the first time, most everyone has the same thought, "is this all there is to this movie?".  Yes, yes it is.  The crowning achievement to the weird, quirky existence that is Napoleon, is the moment he dances before the high school student body and dances like no one is watching.

10. Pulp Fiction - Basically the whole soundtrack 
Yep, for reasons other people have endlessly expounded on.

Got any favorites you'd like to add? (Besides "Let It Go").  Let me know.

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Simple DIYs for a Fun & Whimsical 4th of July!

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The Fourth of July is almost here!

In anticipation, I've rounded up some simple DIYs for a fantastic holiday bash.  

Enjoy!

Decor

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I'm in love with this holiday wreath.  If you have kids, let them help by making pom-poms with yarn.  It's super easy and all you have to do is glue or pin onto wreath base and voila!  Instant cuteness!

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Click on the above link to find a free printable banner from PagingSuperMom.com.  This is probably one of the easiest DIYs on this list.  Just print, cut and staple and you can adorn your home or patio in just a few minutes.

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These Mason Jar Painted Lanterns may take some prep time in painting and then letting the paint dry but they look so worth it!  Really, just when you thought you had seen every craft under the sun involving Mason Jars, someone clever thinks of yet another use.  Just make sure to paint the outside, not the inside!   

Outfit

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I never have any idea what to wear for a Fourth of July party.  For so long I just threw on one of those Old Navy patriotic themed shirts and called it a day.  Now I can turn my old jeans into cutoffs, and paint those cutoffs with fabric paint!  Genius....or shall I say Jean-ius? (Shut up, puns are fun)

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Now you can buy this headband from Fab.com or....................you can just make it with some glitter foam sheets and a black stretchy headband.  Just cut out three stars to your liking from gold glitter foam sheets that can be found at most craft stores and attached to headband with some hot glue.  Pretty and simple.

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Or if you fancy, you could do a version with fake flowers instead.  You know this how Lana Del Rey does it.  I mean I assume.  Who doesn't like the Fourth of July?  Canadians, that's who!  And probably the rest of the world.  

Food

Pinterest Link

Usually, I'm pretty happy with a hot dog and some ice cream on the Fourth of July, but my mom likes to make a similar Strawberry Spinach salad as pictured above.  Just toss blueberries, sliced strawberries, almonds and some crumbled feta cheese in with some spinach leaves.  Then drizzle with some raspberry balsamic dressing and you have a tasty, festive salad sure to please!

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Oh mah gawd!  Patriotic Taco Salad sounds amazing and slightly ironic, no?  I could also see this as a way to dress up a Seven Layer Dip.  Just decorate the stripes with shredded cheese and sliced tomatoes.  Add some olives and extra guac to the top left corner and you have the most delicious version of the American flag to ever exist.

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 Dude, ice cream floats with red and blue sodas?  I'm soooo there.  This one is pretty much a no-brainer but so pretty and tasty looking at the same time.

Games

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Okay so I may have lied a little bit when I said, "simple DIYs" but how awesome is this Patriotic Corn Hole set?  Yes, to some of my readers out there, there is a game called "corn hole" and it is played quite frequently outdoors.  Basically it is a set of elevated boards with a hole cut out across the very top.  Players divide into teams and try to sink as many bean or sand filled sachets through the top or "corn" hole.  If you know how to build or know someone with basic carpentry skills, how cool would it be to bust these babies out?  Painted in red, white and blue.

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Now this Custom Beer Pong Table is entirely within my skill set.  Just get a slab of plywood or if you'd like something sturdier, a hollow-core door, from any hard-ware store and paint a flag using painter's tape for straight edges.  Then rest the table on top a pair of saw horses and your patriotic tribute to drinking games is now complete!

So tell me, my precious readers, what plans do you have in store for the holiday?

Marg

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6 Easy Tips for Surviving Your Next Outdoor Music Festival

Because you don’t want to be this guy.

Source: Flickr

My first time attending a three day outdoor music festival I went alone, slept in my car, and almost had a run in with the police.

Let me back up a bit.

Once I had freshly graduated college, I moved to Austin to work as Production Assistant.  That did not work out as planned but I did get introduced to the outdoor festival, Austin City Limits Music Festival. 

The first two times I went, I went for one day only.

My first year to brave (and afford) all three days, I had moved back to Dallas (where the jobs are).

Thus I packed up some supplies and drove south to Austin.  My plans to stay at uncles’ house overnight were quickly dashed as well as my backup plan to crash on the floor of my cousin’s apartment.

No matter – I would just sleep in my car.  The way drug dealers, the homeless, and/or truckers sometimes do.

You don't know discomfort until you've slept in your car.

I survived on just a few hours a sleep per night, absolutely certain someone would alert the cops to my presence or the fear that I would pass out due to a lack of oxygen. 

Sealed windows still let air in right? Maybe I should roll down the window an inch?

A noisy party Saturday night at my old co-workers apartment, lead to the cops knocking on the front door.  Which wasn’t a big deal, except we had several underage drinkers and a few pot smokers perched on the balcony.  Everyone froze until the cops left.  Crisis averted.

Since those crazy days of my youth, I have learned some useful tips for the average outdoor music festival goer.   Some a mixture of common sense, and other methods more tried and true. 

I now present – 6 Easy Tips for Surviving Your Next Outdoor Music Festival!

YAAS! Let's Do This!

Tip #1 – Don’t Bring Your New Sandals

Look ladies, I know there are several cute sandal options out there.  You may be totally tempted to wear them brand spanking new to the music fest and wow everyone with your on point fashion sense.

Don’t.

Those girls that do?  They are plastering themselves with Band-Aids by end of Day One.  Most times the distance between parking and the festival gates are usually a few miles away.  You’ll be soooo excited to get there in a hurry, your new sandals will already be rubbing raw spots on your feet.

You can bring the sandals with you in a backpack to throw on once you enter the festival but towards the end of the night, you’ll either be covered in mud, or dirt or spilled beer.  Your cute sandals deserve better.

Tip # 2 – Come Prepared

Plan on bringing a poncho, a bandana and some hand sanitizer.  Each work wonders.  The porta potties will inevitably of supplies to wash your hand with. 

Also depending on the weather, which can vary wildly in Texas, you may be faced with drenching rains or hot dry heat that can turn the festival grounds into the post-apocalyptic setting of the Mad Max/ Road Warrior movies.

Trash bags work as ponchos too.....mmmyes, that's me!

Tip # 3 - Locate the Free Drinking Water Stations

Most festivals provide free drinking water stations, in which you can fill up at no charge.  At first, most people typically pass right on by but by Day Three, there is line of festival goers waiting up to 50 minutes and totally missing the whole Tune-Yards set just to get some dang water that doesn’t cost $7 a bottle.

Locate the stations early and strategically swoop in at opportune times to ensure you have an adequate water supply.

Tip # 4 – Locate Some Shade

Standing in the sun, watching Matt and Kim tear it up, is one of life’s greatest pleasures.  Standing in the sun after 4 hours straight is literally torture.  Regardless of which band is currently playing.  Make sure you find some shade and take a rest.  Even if you can’t see the band, you can still hear them and in your chillaxed pose can actually enjoy the music for what it’s worth.

This year I didn’t actually see the band Kongos perform, but I heard them live while stitting under a tent providing shade and man, they were just as awesome!

Tip # 5 – Avoid Running From Stage to Stage

My sister loves to do this but I do not recommend it.  Most music festivals purposely book two massively popular acts at the same time on stages on the opposite ends of the fairgrounds or park.  Most first timers moan in agony that they can’t watch both acts at the same time but that’s done on purpose so that the crowds are evenly spaced around the stages.  You wouldn’t want everyone crowding around each other at one end of the park while the other end is completely empty. 

Running from stage to stage in theory allows you to see both, but you are most likely going to miss the band’s performance of your favorite track or their awesome cover of a well-known classic.  You will miss the best parts, is what I have experienced chasing after my sister.

Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear and 2 Chainz play at the same time? Tha fu#k?

Tip # 6 – Stash Snacks in Your Car

Stash snacks in your car for after the festival.  You’ll either be running low on cash monies or you may be looking forward to grab a bite to eat someplace nearby.  Problem is, most of the festival attendees will have the same idea and you will find yourself in a bit of a gridlock on the way out.  Not to mention wait times at the closest restaurants, diners, or pancake houses still open nearby.  

You will most likely be hangry and/or thirsty, walking back to the parking lot so why not stash a little something in your car to tide you over?  I recommended trail mix or dried fruit. 

Any tips ya'll have to share?

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5 Lessons Learned from Gargoyles: The Animated Series

While out shopping last night for some mouse traps and cereal (mine is a life of glamour and luxury), I came across a DVD of the Gargoyles: The Animated Series.  I had to stop and send a picture to my sister.  This show used to be our hardcore jam and introduced to me Shakespeare’s Macbeth and a Midsummer’s Night Dream.

All for the low, low price of  $9.96

If you have not watched the series, stop reading and move on the next delightful post on my blog.  I have some cute ones about comics and crafts.

However if you ever have watched Disney’s Gargoyles: The Animated Series during your youth or during some random late night marathon session, then onward ho, friends!

Gargoyles came during a time when the Disney animated series swung a little into the dark side.  Airing alongside similar cartoon series such as Darkwing Duck and the rival Batman the Animated Series, Gargoyles followed the adventures of Goliath and his fellow companions, as they went from stone during the day to live flesh at night.  Teaming up with a female cop, Elisa Maza, the gargoyles enjoyed adventures in modern day New York City, mostly adventures about saving New York City from criminals. 

Like a demonic butterfly, emerging from it's cocoon.

Looking back, Gargoyles shared some pretty progressive viewpoints for young children.  The show never played down or played dumb for its young viewers.  This October will mark the 20^th anniversary since its premiere episode.  In its honor, I present five lessons learned from watching Gargoyles: The Animated Series.

Lesson One – New York, New York

 By naming main characters after landmarks, children can become familiar with New York City.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Spiderman and Daredevil well enough and through those characters know about New York neighborhood Queens and Hell’s Kitchen, which isn’t a cool restaurant that, like, puts hot sauce on everything (which is what I totally thought as a kid) but I didn’t start reading comic books until I was a little bit older.  Everything I knew about New York as a child came from watching the movie Annie and watching Gargoyles.  Goliath notwithstanding, the other gargoyles chose names from New York City landmarks, and thus became known in their new home as Brooklyn, Hudson, Lexington and their dog-like companion Bronx.  This way years before celebrities picked up on the same idea for naming their own offspring.  This was my first exposure to the streets, neighborhoods and river of New York.

Of  course ....Bronx is the dog....

Lesson Two – To Be or Not To Be

Kids will understand Shakespeare if it’s presented in a cartoon.

Other characters were named after several characters from Shakespearean plays such as MacBeth, Othello and a Midsummer’s Night Eve.  Scottish and English mythology was featured heavily in the second season of the Gargoyles series.  Characters were constantly plotting against and double crossing one another, mainstays of the Shakespearean plays.  Before I entered high school I was aware of names like Othello, Desdemona, Oberon and Macbeth.  Alluding to mythology gave the series depth and complexity that is still rarely seen in cartoons today.  It was specifically because of this, that I loved Gargoyles.  The plot was not afraid to dive head first into material that is mostly Shakespearean in origin.

Also, King Arthur.

Lesson Three – Biracial is Beautiful

One of the lead characters, Elisa Maza, was of African American and Native American descent. 

Now my sisters and I have pretty fair skin.  I usually burn in the summertime if not wearing sunscreen. We grew up in a pretty standard middle class, white neighborhood and fit in.  However as my last name suggests, ironic since my dad is the white one, we are half white and half Mexican.  To see my mom, you would probably guess she is an accent less Italian-American woman with large dark eyes and olive skin.  Still, as a kid I was subtly aware that all the Disney princess were white until Jasmine and Pocahontas came along and even though Ninja Turtles were mutants, their best friend was still a white reporter April O’Neil.  Ethnic characters appeared on Captain Planet and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers but biracial lead characters weren’t really a thing.  You were either black, white, tan, green or whatever but Elisa was a badass.  Yes she was pretty, but even more so she was level-headed, brave, and strong.

Lesson Four – Our Love is Strong

No damsels in distress here.

Much like the relationship in Beauty and the Beast, NYC cop Elisa Maza and head gargoyle Goliath gradually became a couple.  Although it was always thinly veiled, obviously Disney didn't want to take an inter-species relationship too far.

Until this happened......I'm looking at you Treasure Planet

What I liked is that both Elisa and Goliath were pro-active, tough and smart.  Both were genuinely tolerant and open minded of each other species, bringing out the best of each other.  I remember when Beauty and Beast came out, my sisters fell in love with Belle.  Not only did they have the same brown hair and hazel eyes, but they loved Belle because she was proactive and smart.  Her priorities were always about her family and true love was at the bottom of her list.  Elisa and Goliath are cut from the same cloth.  Both put the welfare of others before their own desires and have come to recognize that quality in each other.  They started out as true equals and progressed to a power couple.  Relationship equality is heady stuff for children’s program but it stuck with me, nonetheless, probably for the betterment of my future.

She's got a gun and wearing JNCOs, baby I'm in love.

Lesson Five – Bitches Get Stuff Done

Demona is a bitch. 

Her name literally means “She demon”.  As one of the main antagonists of the Gargoyles series, Demona is a female gargoyle that used to be Goliath’s mate and the mother of their daughter, Angela.  Unaffected by the spell that places the rest of the gargoyles in an animated suspension by turning them to stone, Demona lives through the centuries in which the other gargoyles sleep through.  By witnessing the humans’ potential for cruelness and destruction, Demona seeks to take over the leadership of the gargoyles and to rule over or wipe out humankind.  Voiced by Marina Sirtis, of Star Trek fame, Demona spoke with authority and elegance.  An accomplished fighter who dabbled in sorcery and later in spinoff sequels was the CEO of her own company, Demona proves herself so much more than a wife and a mother.  A warrior, a leader, a sorcerer, an ally and a supervillan, Demona was that rare foe that had believable motivations for her actions.  Demona wasn’t totally wrong, she was the Magneto to Goliath’s Charles Xavier and every bit as strong, smart and capable.

She also wore a crown of sorts....LIKE A BAWSE!!

Now you totally want to watch an episode, riiiiiiiiiiiiiight?

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